


Crimson and Ebony

by ShadowMistWolf



Series: Gift of the Goddess [2]
Category: Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Avalanche, Character Death, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-07
Updated: 2017-01-07
Packaged: 2018-09-15 10:47:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9231407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowMistWolf/pseuds/ShadowMistWolf
Summary: With the threat of Jenova gone, Hojo locked away, and the matters with AVALANCHE nearly settled, the only thing left was DEEPGROUND, but things take a turn for the worst when an unknown force makes itself known.





	1. Chapter 1

        It had taken an entire year before things began to settle down after Rufus ShinRa became president, though it was only a few months before SOLDIER got back together and started going on assignments again. No one seemed to question Angeal or Genesis; it was entirely different when a third Strife popped up out of the blue. The older Cloud, who goes by Fenrir, decided to stick around and help out Reeve with his project of alternative energy since he had seen quite a few things before Minerva herself sent him to our reality and then let him stay with us. The younger Cloud, my little brother, thought it was the best thing since he met Sephiroth, who he also got along with very well. Things between Sephiroth and Fenrir had mostly been cleared up enough for them to even admit to being somewhat friends. Vincent had gone back to the north for a while, but he stopped by now and again, constantly turning down Tseng’s offers of returning to the Turks.  
        Besides the new addition to 1st Class, things felt like they went mostly back to normal. Of course Genesis, Angeal, and I still had wings, but the degradation that had plagued them was completely healed and would –hopefully- never return. Cloud returned to his classes, but he had training lessons with Zack and Fenrir whenever they had free time.  
        Genesis and Angeal seemed to have a bit of tension between them at first, but then things just got better and better and they were back to joking around, being annoyed and amused all at once. Things were great, but we still had a lot of things to deal with. AVALANCHE was as elusive as always, and for whatever reason, Vincent thought that it wasn’t the right time to shut down Deepground, if it even existed at all yet. One the other case however, we managed to come up with a solid plan almost off the bat, and we’d been keeping up with it for nearly two months now. It’s going to take a few more weeks to completely execute, but we were close to achieving our goal. This is where I came in. You see, our whole plan –created mostly by Fenrir and Sephiroth, surprisingly- was for me to create a fake identity and image to infiltrate the hierarchy of AVALANCHE to slowly convince them that ShinRa was changing for the better and that the radical action they used was doing more harm than good.  
        It had taken a while, but I got in with the important people, my ‘talent and tact’ were apparently the most key reasons that they took me into their organization to begin with I was told, and it was slowly getting me influence with Marcela, the current leader. The next meeting wasn’t for another two days, so I took the opportunity to rest back at the tower after a week of missions, from SOLDIER and AVALANCHE both.  
        Zack was walking down the hall with Kunsel when I got out of the elevator on the SOLDIER floor; both greeted me when they saw me, Zack being a little more enthusiastic than his friend, like always.  
        “Jas! Good to see ya back, how’d it go?” He slung an arm over my shoulders, ignoring the concept of personal space.  
        “It’s been going fine, just been a bit exhausted lately. Is Gen in?”  
        “No, but Lazard said he’d be back by tomorrow morning, so you’ll have to spend a single agonizing night without your boyfriend by your side.” I rolled my eyes at his overdramatic display, pushing him away lightly.  
        “Says the guy that can’t go a day without seeing or talking to his girlfriend.” I retorted as Zack clutched a hand over his heart, feigning offense.  
        “How dare you compare our relationships! Aerith is my soulmate and I would totally die without hearing her sweet angelic voice every day!” I shook my head as I laughed and he chuckled too before we went our separate ways. The hall leading to the dorms, which were more like apartments, was completely silent as I keyed open the door and made my way inside. Everything was the same as it was when I had been promoted to first class, everything grey, gold, and white. The purple apples sitting in a bowl on the island of the kitchen brought a smile to my face every time; the memory of the first time Genesis and Angeal returned to Banora to find that several of the trees still stood was one filled with mixed emotions. Neither had been very enthused about returning to the town, a good talk from Fenrir had set them straight, but Genesis had nearly broken down at the sight of the destroyed homes and charred trees. He hadn’t spoken a word until we were back in Midgar, away from everyone in the privacy of his living room where he finally managed to spill his regret and guilt and grief. It was just one of those memories about how we had grown ever closer together.  
        From that day on he had personally invested in the Banora Whites along with Angeal; rebuilding the factory and the mansion that he had grown up in, having dumbapples shipped to ShinRa tower on a regular basis.  
        Snatching one from its place atop the pile, I took my snack to the bedroom, savoring the crisp texture and sweet taste as I grabbed a tank-top and shorts got into a steaming hot shower, washing off what felt like layers of pure dirt and sweat. The apple core fell into the empty trash bin as I passed it, sliding down into the soft loveseat and picking up my book, intent on spending the rest of the evening with my novel. But of course the life of a SOLDIER never stays calm and quite for long, it was barely twenty minutes before someone was knocking at my door.  
        Getting up with a light sigh, I set my book down and made my way to the door, brushing a hand through my hair as I went. Surprisingly, it was Tseng standing outside my place.  
        “Tseng.”  
        “Sorry to intrude, I know you just got back but we’ve got a situation. You should get dressed.” With a nod I retreated back to my room, throwing on my white shirt, pants, and boots before leaving again. Heaven’s wing sat heavy on my back, a reminder of how long it had been since she had been used. Shutting the door behind me, I followed Tseng to the elevators and up to the Turk’s floor and into his office where he gestured for me to take a seat before setting a file between us on the oak desk.  
        “For the past week we’ve been monitoring communications going out of ShinRa, we found several from the same person that have been going to AVALANCHE. At first we weren’t able to find where the messages were being sent from or by whom; however, just a little while ago one of our agents was able to trace the messages back to the sender. I thought you’d want to know first, and not just because of your undercover work.” Apprehension filled me as I slid the folder closer and opening it, scanning the first full page before slowly looking back to the Wutian man, his face was its usual emotionless mask and I couldn’t tell what he was thinking at all.  
        “This is… but why would he…?” Confusion and a silent bitter anger welled up inside me but I forced it down, letting out a breath to meet the Turk’s eyes again.  
        “What do you want me to do?”  
        “I guess that depends on you. If you confront him, it might escalate things with AVALANCHE; not doing so might put you in danger, but you could handle it, possibly without blowing your cover as well. We still have an agent that can act as your double if you think that may help.” With a nod I turned to the next page, looking through it quickly.  
        “Alright, I’ll save the confrontation for later, thanks for letting me know, Tseng.” His only response was a brief nod before taking the file and putting it away as I exited the office, heading back to my room to mull over everything that had been brought to my attention.


	2. Chapter 2

        Light shining through the window of my room woke me the next day and I blinked a few times before trying to get up. After dressing and brushing out my spiky blonde hair I headed out to the training room, greeting other SOLDIERs along the way. As expected, Zack was with a group of Seconds, running them through the training simulations while Angeal watched from the control room that I had just entered. He greeted me politely, like always, before going back to his observing. I stayed only for a few minutes before heading out again, this time to my office where a stack of papers were no doubt waiting for me.  
        Ever since the events that had occurred at Nibelheim, Lazard had paired me with Sephiroth to provide a second opinion for the SOLDIER candidate acceptances. A new batch of soldiers was ready to take on the tests, but it was still in the preliminary stage, meaning that only those with the best qualities, traits, or skills would be accepted to take it. Outside applicants would get a later opportunity to try their luck at the toughest job in the world. Setting Heaven’s Wing to the side and draping my coat over the back of the desk chair, I sat and began looking through the thick stack of material, marking things as I went.  
        Everything felt like a normal day back in the office of SOLDIER, signing papers and writing up reports and such, Zack or Sephiroth would pop in around noon to deliver documents; Cloud would occasionally stop by to get lunch with him and sometimes even Fenrir; Angeal would oversee my evening training class with the Thirds; and Genesis would get me at the end of the day to head down to my place to have dinner, but it also felt off. Things had felt off the second Tseng put that file in front of me.  
        Pushing the thought away, I tried to focus back on the paper, but nothing in me seemed to want to look at the report anymore and I found myself aimlessly staring out the window. The glowing blue of my eyes stared back at me, looking tense and troubled in the reflection on the glass. With a heavy sigh, I dropped the pen still in my hand and stood, retrieving my things before escaping my office after leaving a note on the door; it was still early and therefore the perfect time to slip out for a little while.  
        Stopping at my room to change into an outfit I hadn’t had to wear in a while, I applied a bit of makeup and carefully piled my hair to slip the wig over it before leaving and heading for the service elevator. Once outside, I took a deep breathe, suddenly glad that the air was just the tiniest bit clearer than it had been since three of the mako reactors had been shut down. I wasn’t sure how long I simply wandered around above and below the plate before I finally felt like my head was clear and I could focus on my work, but by then the sun was halfway to the horizon.    
   
*Time skip*  
*3rd Person P.O.V*  
        A large gathering had formed just inside the limits of Kalm, a middle age woman with long chocolate brown hair stood on a slightly raised stage of sorts in front of an old store, her gleaming green eyes traveling over the restless group. Today was the day a Shinra representative would come to negotiate the terms of AVALANCHE’s disbandment. Right on schedule, a convoy of three trucks appeared, heading straight for them and stopping a couple blocks away, a single figure exiting. Blonde hair swept up in a high ponytail, mako eyes glowing, clad in pure white and gold, was SOLDIER First Class Jasmine Strife.  
        Marcela looked to her left, nodding at the other blonde haired woman there, though it was more of a pale blonde than the bright gold of the enhanced woman’s and her eyes were also paler and she dressed in dark greens and black. The rebel leader then looked to her right where a man stood, staring with clear disdain at the approaching figure, his dark eyes narrowed and a scowl on his lips. Together, the three moved from the platform and met Jasmine at the edge of the crowd.  
        “You must be the representative from ShinRa.” It was more a statement than a question, but the SOLDIER nodded all the same.  
        “Yes, I’m Jasmine Strife, SOLDIER 1st Class, thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”  
        “I’m just glad ShinRa finally seems to see what it’s doing.”  
        “You and I both.”          
        “Why would a SOLDIER care about the Planet?” The man spat, his dark glare settling on Jasmine who simply turned to look at him.  
        “It’s hard to explain, and even harder to convince people of the truth about it, but all the same, I care just as much about stopping the use of mako energy as you are, the only difference is that I’m trying to do so without all the fall out of bombs and such.” Attention back on Marcela, the blonde continued, “Our director of Urban Development has been working on an alternative energy source, we’ve already developed solar panels that are being installed in Coral. So far, it’s been deemed effective so far, though of course the long term data has yet to be compiled with how new the technology is.”  
        “Sound like they’ve got quite a handle on things then, Veran, what’s your take on all this?” The brunette turned to the pale young woman next to her.  
        “Looks sound to me as well; I saw the panels in Coral myself, and the reactor had been sealed off. I think we can trust them, ShinRa has a new president after all.” Crossing her arms, the woman looked the other blonde from top to bottom, unflinchingly meeting the glowing mako eyes. The AVALNCHE leader nodded to herself and glanced around at all the people gathered behind her; she opened her mouth to speak when a commotion above caught their attention and lines of ShinRa troopers appeared on the rooftops, rifles aimed down on them.  
        Another figure appeared, glowing eyes blank as he moved ever closer, sword in hand. Confused and on edge, Jasmine turned her attention to them.  
        “What are you doing?!” She demanded, “You’re going to jeopardize everything!” Still the other SOLDIER just moved steadily forward, a light beginning to manifest from the materia orb set into the bracer around their wrist. A ball of flames suddenly appeared, hurtling through the air towards her. In a second, Heaven’s Wing was off Jasmine’s back and cutting the spell into two, the fire dissipating just as fast as it had appeared.  
        “Open fire!” A call from above sounded and a hail of bullets rained down on the group, though many were protected as barriers sprang up. Fire was returned as the two SOLDIERs faced one another, one set of bright eyes strangely blank while the other held conflicting emotions.  
        “What are you doing, Genesis!?”


	3. Chapter 3

        Marcela and Veran were ducking under the protection of the blonde’s barrier while trying their best to fend of the troopers that had rushed at them from all sides. With the bulky form of Neal pushing the two back towards a small alley, they managed to avoid the gun fire, pushing the activist leader away from the battle with her second in command following close behind, leaving the blonde armed with two daggers and a band of materia to cover their escape.  
        The fight didn’t last long; AVALANCHE had fought off most of the troops, though many had been killed in the initial surprise attack. Grimacing at the grave on her arm, Veran pushed herself to her feet just in time to see the red clad SOLDIER through Jasmine to the ground, but the bright haired woman simply flipped back onto her feet again, skidding to avoid falling once more.  
        From her place against the wall of a building, the girl could see that neither had broken a sweat in their skirmish. For a moment, mako eyes flickered to her own sky blue orbs and she froze as the icy grip of fear froze her limbs as the auburn haired man lunged to her, sword poised to run her through, but a white blur was suddenly between them, the tip of a crimson blade emerging from the other’s back as blood slowly soaked into the material of Jasmine’s coat.  
        “Run!!!” The SOLDIER ordered firmly and Veran complied without a second thought, rushing down the alley to her left, but she stopped and turned to look back only to watch in horror as the white clad enhanced woman hit the ground, blood pour from the slash across her throat, scarlet staining her uniform and the ground under her, a pool slowly growing. Bile rose in her throat and the blonde slapped a hand over her mouth to keep herself from being sick as she turned and rushed away from the scene.  
        Back in the street, Genesis and his men had disappeared from sight, leaving no trace save for bullet casings and the dead. Not long after that, several helicopters flew overhead, the result of a call straight to ShinRa Tower from a terrified shop owner who now stood just outside his shop, face colorless. Just down the way, passing the three trucks that Jasmine had arrived in, one of which had been set aflame, more people appeared, the pristine black suit of a Turk followed by two black clad SOLDIER, Sephiroth and Fenrir, and then a few more Turks. A few words and Tseng had the other Turks vanishing into the side streets, looking for anyone from AVALANCHE or any potential witnesses.  
        Sweeping a narrowed gaze over the area, Sephiroth cursed when his eyes found the white uniform of his friend and he rushed to her side, Fenrir following close behind. Dropping to his knees, the silver haired general cursed again, the damage was too great to heal with a phoenix down alone and by the time they got one and a mastered cure materia, it would be too late to revive her. On the other side of the woman’s body, the spiky haired man clenched a fist and turned away, looking to the ground as the glint of gold casings caught his attention and he picked a few from the ground. Mumbling his own curse under his breathe, the man let the objects fall back to the ground just as the rest of their men arrived, a box of black body bags open and waiting to be used.  
        Sephiroth stood back as the men approached, though they did so hesitantly enough for him to realize that his clenched fist was shaking. Forcing himself to relax, he moved a few paces away after grabbing his friend’s ivory blade from the ground.  
        “General,” Tseng addressed him, drawing the silver haired man’s attention to him as well as two other Turks who held the slumped form of Veran between them, “She’s part of AVALANCHE, she saw everything.” With a nod, the man looked to Fenrir who was watching them already and waved him over as the group fell back to the helicopters. Dismissing the two, the Wutian climbed in beside the pale faced woman, Sephiroth and Fenrir taking the seat opposite them as the doors closed the engine started up. The four took headsets and switched them to a different channel than the pilot before Tseng began to speak,  
        “What happened down there?” He questioned simply, getting odd looks from the two SOLDIERs, both of which had expected him to wait until they got back to Midgar to begin questioning the woman.  
        “Genesis.” Three pairs of eyes widened in utter disbelief as the name rolled off the woman’s tongue and Sephiroth nearly lurched out of his seat to grasp the woman and demand she repeat it, but he settle for merely growling out a ‘what?’.  
        “Genesis, he showed up in the middle of everything with a bunch of troopers, they opened fire from above. Jasmine tried to keep his back but she… she protected me and h-he…” Veran was shaking, barely able to continue with describing such a terrible murder. The Turk didn’t force, instead he switch her headset off and turned to the two enhanced males.  
        “Why would Genesis sabotage everything we worked for? It doesn’t make sense!” Feline eyes narrowed in irritation at how little information they had. Fenrir simply looked at Tseng; it was a piercing look that all but screamed he knew that the man had more knowledge on the subject than he had given.  
        With a sigh, the dark eyed man relented, “Actually, we figured something like this was going to happen, we just didn’t know when or where. And who would be involved.”  
        “Why didn’t you say anything?” The oldest Strife questioned, a hint of accusation in his tone.  
        “I did. I told Jasmine because she was directly involved, I told her she could confront Genesis about what he was doing or wait, she chose to wait.”  
        “What exactly was Genesis doing?”  
        “He was sending false document to an AVALANCHE member, documents that basically indicated that everything was a hoax, that the reactors were going to be used again and that our development of alternatives wasn’t working.”  
        “That doesn’t sound like something Genesis would do, he’s not exactly one for meticulous work; he’s spontaneous, unpredictable.” The general argued, sounding rather appalled at the idea.  
        “Well whatever’s going on, we’ll figure it out, for now, I think its best we tell the others what’s happened.” Fenrir’s eyes were staring at the metal floor below him and his words were followed by a heavy silence as they continued their flight back to ShinRa Tower.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all, this is the sequel to White and Gold, please read it in order for some aspects of this story to not bamboozle you (/^.^)/   
> Comments and Favorites are very much appreciated  
> As a warning, I am not good with consistent updates because I am subject to the horrendous thing known as college    
> Please read and enjoy


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